


Science Fiction Double Feature

by Ladymordecai



Category: Castle, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-25
Updated: 2010-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-14 02:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/144408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladymordecai/pseuds/Ladymordecai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beckett always gets the weird ones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Science Fiction Double Feature

**Author's Note:**

  * For [debirlfan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/debirlfan/gifts).



" _What_ is _that?_ "

"You're our resident expert on the strange and macabre, Castle. You tell us."

Three detectives leaned over the body of an old woman. It was grotesquely twisted, and its skin had shrunken in almost to the bone. It was only recognizable as a woman because of the dress--and even then, Castle wasn't about to rule out drag queens. There was just nothing left.

Laney came up behind them and _tsked_. "Not another one."

" _Another one?_ " Beckett and Castle repeated in unison. They all four turned to look at Laney.

"Had a case like this down on 34th street day before yesterday."

Beckett's face pinched together. "Autopsy results?"

"Old age," Laney said. "Extremely old age. Toxicology hasn't come back yet. The only anomaly was a shallow wound in the middle of the chest, apparently received within minutes of death. But it wasn't deep enough or severe enough to be fatal, not by itself."

Four people on the other side of the yellow police tape caught Castle's attention while Laney exposited. They were staring at the corpse with grim expressions--no surprise there, nobody thought this body was fun and jolly. The surprise was that none of _them_ seemed surprised. Horrified, angry, concerned, frightened, yes. But not surprised.

While Castle watched, a uniform came up to the tape and started talking to the group. The dumpy-looking balding guy started shouting and waving his arms around, and the guy with the crazy hair--military of some kind, though Castle couldn't pinpoint how he knew--held up his hand and the other man stopped shouting. The woman with the group took up crazy-haired guy's conversation with the uniform, and finally the uniform let them in under the tape. The last member of the group was so tall he had to bend in half to get under.

" _Beckett,_ " Castle hissed.

Beckett was just turning around to ask him what he wanted--he could tell by the annoyed expression--when the dumpy guy marched onto the scene.

"Right, all of you, go away."

Esposito stepped up and got in his face. "Hey, this is a crime scene, get out of here."

Dumpy guy sneered. "Given the miniscule brain you probably have to be working for the New York Police Department, you could never possibly understand what's going on here, so why don't you pick up your fingerprint dust or whatever and go arrest some teenager for shoplifting."

" _Rod_ ney!" Crazy-haired guy protested.

"Oh, you know what, I think I'll call that assault on a police officer, you know how long you go away for that?" Esposito stuck his badge in dumpy guy--Rodney's--face, Ryan right behind him.

"That will not be necessary." The woman stepped up to Rodney and pulled on his crossed arms. "Rodney. Apologize."

"Yeah, whatever. Sheppard, can we get on with this?"

"What is going on here?" Beckett demanded.

Crazy-haired guy sighed. "My name is Lieutenant-Colonel John Sheppard, and I'm afraid this crime scene isn't in your jurisdiction. We'll handle it from here."

"This might very well be murder, Colonel Sheppard," Beckett argued. "That makes it my jurisdiction not the army's."

"Air Force, actually," Sheppard corrected.

"Unless you're JAG," and Castle made sure the once-over he gave Sheppard conveyed his extreme doubt, "then murder isn't in the Air Force's jurisdiction, either."

"This is all very fun, but this is _classified_ and you all need to go away now." Rodney glared at the detectives as if the entire thing was their fault. Esposito looked about ready to punch his face in, and Castle could see Ryan waiting to grab his partner in case his impulse control failed.

"What about you?" Castle looked up--and up--at the fourth member. "There's no way that hair is regulation. Are those beads? Can I see?" He stepped closer, trying to get a better look.

"Civilian consultant," the man rumbled. "And no."

"Detective Beckett, here's their paperwork," the uniform, who Castle hadn't even noticed standing behind them, handed Beckett an envelope. She opened it and pulled out a thick sheaf of papers.

A minute later she flipped the papers back over, shoved them into the envelope, and said, "We're done here. Let's go."

"About time," Rodney grumbled. "Also, you, medical person, we'll be seizing all your records, the previous body, and expunging all your files."

Laney's eyes went wide. "You're doing what?"

"Trust us." The woman with the group laid a gentle hand on Laney's arm. "This is not a situation in which you would wish to involve yourselves. Please, cooperate and we will soon be gone."

"Unless another body turns up," the big guy added.

Three detectives, one ME and a writer all left the scene together, the uniformed cops giving way to another kind of uniform entirely as the employees of the city of New York were escorted away and replaced by military personnel.

"Can they do that?" Castle protested. "That's not fair!"

As they walked away, Castle caught a snippet of conversation from around the corpse. "Dammit, this is definitely Dr. Leighton. She actually . . . ideas about trans-dimensional travel . . . adequate for someone . . . less than a year ago." "How old?" "Thirty-three, thirty-four, something like that. Don't look at me, it's in her file, I don't need . . ." And then they were too far away.

"Life's not fair, Castle," Beckett said. "And this file says they can."

"I guess you can't get all the weird ones, huh, Beckett?" Esposito said, apparently having regained his composure.

"Guess not." Becket sighed, and rolled her eyes, and grabbed Castle by the front of his jacket and dragged him away, while he watched the four intruders kneel over the body. "Come on, Castle, there'll be another murder soon enough."

"But this one was interesting! There was the whole mysterious wound thing!"

"Castle, leave it. I don't want to get abducted again."

"Those weren't even aliens," Castle scoffed.

"Nevertheless."

Castle's eyes lit up. "Ooh, maybe this time it is aliens! Life-sucking aliens that have tentacle-sucker feeders that leave a strange, shallow wound on the chest! And those people are part of a secret military organization that fights them and covers it all up!"

"I thought you wrote mystery, not science fiction," Beckett teased.

"It might be science fact!"

" _Castle!_ "


End file.
